When You Fell In Love With Me
by FlightfootKeyseeker
Summary: A new akuma's firing blasts at everyone, knocking them out. Or at least that's what Ladybug ASSUMED was happening, until Chat Noir was hit and they both seemingly passed out... but not for long.
1. Chapter 1

(A/N) Edit: So apparently FFN erased my italics the first time. I've fixed it now. Hopefully this reads better now!

* * *

Ladybug and Chat Noir fought off a new akuma, Heartbreaker. Apparently she'd confessed to her crush and he hadn't believed her - something about thinking she was joking? - so now she was shooting blasts of light at everyone.

It wasn't quite clear what her power was. Some people were totally unaffected, while others keeled over on the ground, unconscious. Sometimes when one person was hit, a second person would fall asleep, even though they weren't anywhere NEAR the first person. It was very strange and made Ladybug antsy.

If she didn't know WHY some people were falling unconscious even though they hadn't been hit, she couldn't guard against it. She or Chat - or worse, BOTH - of them could be knocked unconscious with no warning.

Luckily she'd called in reinforcements. Carapace and Rena Rouge were keeping Heartbreaker busy while she attempted to come up with a plan. It meant that she also had to worry about THEM being knocked out, but since only a maximum of two people seemed to get knocked out at a time, there should be enough of their team left to drag the unconscious members to safety. Hopefully.

"Ladybug! Watch out!"

She turned around just as a blast of light fired towards her.

It didn't get her.

She was suddenly aware of Chat hugging her, having taken the blast. She was about to say something, chastise him for sacrificing himself AGAIN, maybe, perhaps prepare to carry him away to safety until the akuma was defeated, when she felt suddenly dizzy. She felt Chat start to slump at the same moment.

The last thing she saw were Rena Rouge and Carapace rushing over towards them, Carapace activating his shield.

Then everything went black.

* * *

_What just happened?_

Ladybug had expected to pass out. What she HADN'T expected was to be awake and STILL not see anything.

She attempted to get up, thinking that maybe she'd been struck blind somehow, or perhaps just put in a really, REALLY dark room. She didn't move.

She tried to wiggle her fingers. Nothing was there.

She tried to raise a hand. Still nothing.

She tried to kick her legs. Nada.

She tried to open her mouth to scream. It didn't respond.

She attempted to concentrate on her breathing. And then realized that she WASN'T.

_AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH LET ME OUT LET ME OUT HELP ME SOMEONE ANYONE PLEASE CAN ANYONE HEAR ME PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE_

It took Ladybug a moment to realize that wasn't HER shouting. Well, it wasn't shouting per se. She didn't really HEAR it, so much as sense it. Like… telepathy?

She shook herself (mentally). Whoever was shouting, they NEEDED someone to respond.

She tried to send out a message.

_I'm here. Are you trapped in this dark place too?_

She waited for a moment, hoping that the other person heard her.

A response came quickly. _...Ladybug?_

_Yes! But how did you know? I can't recognize 'voices' in here, can you?_

She heard a relieved chuckle. _I can't either, but if anyone was going to help me, it would be you, milady._

_Wait, Chat?!_

_Yeah. I'm sorry you're in this situation too, but I'm really, really glad I'm not here alone._

_Me too._ She thought about how panicked he'd sounded when he thought he was alone. She'd been on the verge of shouting, but the level of terror in his voice… she would've managed alone. She wasn't so sure that HE would have. She'd never known her kitty was this afraid of being alone.

Color returned to the world.

Ladybug was relieved. She could feel her body again!

She attempted to speak, to move, SOMETHING, but her body didn't respond.

Then she noticed some other oddities.

Like the giant rock monster on the Eiffel Tower hacking up akumas.

_…Did I time travel?_

She heard an answering thought. _Wait, milady, you're in here too?_

She would've jumped if she had any control over her(?) body.

_Chat? You're still here?_

_Yeah. I can't control my body though. It's doing everything on its own._

_Wait, YOUR body…?_

As Hawkmoth monologued, a suspicion formed in Ladybug's mind.

Watching HERSELF slowly walk towards Hawkmoth, clapping, confirmed it.

_Oh CRAP, Chat, we're both trapped here in YOUR body, in the past._

It took a moment for him to answer. _I guess we are? That's… really, really weird. How would the akuma do this. WHY would the akuma do this._

Ladybug's mind whirred, trying to come up with an answer. She felt like one was close, but she needed more info._ I don't know. But we'll figure it out._

_Of course we will, milady. We always do. So long as I'm with you, I know everything will be okay._

She didn't know how to respond to that, so she settled on watching, hoping that she could figure out what was going on, and more importantly, how to get out of it.

She watched her past self start to run towards the Hawkmoth cloud. She couldn't help it anyway, she couldn't close her eyes or move her head. She was trapped doing whatever Chat had done all those months ago.

"Nice try, Hawk Moth, but we know who the bad guy is. Let's not reverse the roles here. Without you, none of these innocent victims would be transformed into villains. Hawk Moth, no matter how long it takes, we will find you, and YOU will hand us YOUR Miraculous!"

She could feel her - could feel past Chat's - breath catch as he watched her make her proclamation. As she watched HERSELF make her proclamation.

He was awestruck. She could feel it in the way he held himself, the way his eyes widened, his heart beat faster.

And… maybe something BEYOND awestruck.

_This is when I fell in love with you._

She could 'hear' the wistfulness in his thoughts.

_I'd thought you were cute when we first met. I thought you were crazy awesome when you came up with that plan to defeat Stoneheart that first time. But this? This is when I fell for you. Your courage, your commitment, your refusal to let Hawkmoth have his way… I was a goner._

She would've blushed if she was able to.

_Chat… Chat, I wish I could return your feelings. You're a great guy, but…_

_I know. There's another guy, right? The boy you like. I'm not going to push you. Just… know I'm here, if that doesn't work out. And if he ever treats you badly…_

She gave a mental laugh. _I don't think that's possible. There's not a mean bone in his body._

She settled into a companionable silence as they watched Ladybug's past self purify the akumas.

Past Ladybug stood on a beam on the EIffel Tower, declaring to Paris, "Let me make this promise to you. No matter who wants to harm you, Ladybug and Cat Noir will do everything in our power to keep you safe!"

As the past Ladybug released the swarm of purified butterflies, she felt the past Chat Noir rise from his stupor.

"Wow. Whoever she is beneath that mask, I love that girl."

_And I still do._

Ladybug startled. _That's it!_

_What's it?_

_I think I know what the akuma did!_

_I knew you'd figure it out! What did it do?_

_The akuma was mad because her crush didn't believe her confession, right? So I bet she thought that if everyone could see, could experience, what their crushes did when they first fell in love, they'd REALIZE they were sincere. That's why it only affected some people! It probably only affected people who had crushes on someone. And that's why two people were sometimes affected, when only one was hit! I bet in the cases where we only SAW one person being affected, it was because the second person wasn't in the area!_

Chat was quiet for a moment._ …So it's my fault you're trapped in this too?_

_Oh, kitty… She tried to reassure him. You were protecting me. I would've been affected either way. Besides, I couldn't stand it if you had to go through this alone._

She felt him mentally smile._ Thank you, milady._

A sudden jarring feeling ripped through her. It felt like someone had jerked her suddenly to the side, so fast that it blurred her vision.

When she jerked to a halt, she was in a far more familiar situation. The height, the weight, her gait.

_This… this is my body! I'm back in my body!_

She attempted to say that out loud, but her mouth didn't move.

_That's great, milady, but I'm still here. I'm guessing you can't control anything either?_

No… oh NO.

_What is it? What's wrong?_

She started to panic._ This is me as a CIVILIAN. You might learn who I am!_

_…I'd close my eyes and plug my ears, Ladybug, but I can't do that right now._

_I know kitty, I know. Just… I'll try not to panic too much. Whatever happens, happens. Not much either of us can do about it now._

As past Marinette walked towards the entryway of the College Francois-Dupont, Chat perked up.

_Is this… is this your school?_

_You know I can't answer that, kitty._

_But is it?_

She ignored him. If he found out, then he found out. But she wasn't going to hand the answer to him.

Her past self reached the entranceway - or exitway, in this case.

It was raining outside. Stuck out a hand, feeling the rain.

_Oh. OH. I know why we're here. We saw when you fell in love. Now you'll see when I did._

_So I'll learn who my competition is, then._

_Kitty!_

_Kidding, kidding…_

"Hey."

Marinette's past self looked away, grunting slightly. She caught a glimpse of a white shirt and blond hair out of the corner of her eye, but not much more than that.

She heard Adrien give a quiet sigh, then the sound of his umbrella opening as he walked forwards.

"I just wanted you to know…"

Her past self looked at Adrien.

_What…?_

Marinette would've frowned if she could. Chat sounded… surprised? Amazed? Maybe even a bit disbelieving.

"… that I was only trying to take the chewing gum off your seat. I swear."

Marinette felt herself blink, her heart starting to race as Adrien looked back at her, trying to persuade her of his sincerity.

"I've never been to school before. I've never had friends. It's all sort of… new to me."

He looked back at her, giving her that soft, kind smile she'd grown to love so much.

Then he held out his umbrella, giving it to her.

She looked up and down, from his hand, to his face, smiling at her with those damnably gorgeous green eyes.

Slowly she reached her hand out, attempting to take the umbrella. It took her a moment, as the first time her fingers collided with his. But at last she grasped the umbrella.

Then it closed on her.

She heard Adrien burst out into laughter, and felt herself joining in a moment later.

"See you tomorrow."

Adrien turned and walked away.

_That's… that's the guy you have a crush on?_

Marinette couldn't quite place the tone of Chat's thought. He definitely didn't sound upset, or sad, which was kind of strange. He seemed almost breathless. Disbelieving, but… in a good way? Hopeful maybe?

_Yeah…_

Chat seemed almost confused. _Why… why did you fall in love with him? He just apologized and handed you his umbrella…?_

He still had that strange tone.

She tried to explain as best she could.

_When I first met him, I jumped to conclusions. I accused him of putting gum on my chair, when he was actually trying to take it off. He tried to tell me he didn't do it, but I'd already made up my mind._

_And then… and then he walked out here with me. He told me with such sincerity that he didn't do it, that I HAD to believe it. He trusted me enough to open up to me, telling me something private, showing a vulnerability I didn't know was there And then… and then he handed me his umbrella. To me, a girl he didn't know, a girl who'd written him off when he'd only tried to help me. He gave it to me and walked through the rain himself instead, because I had farther to go. His sincerity, his kindness… I couldn't help but to fall in love with him._

Chat was quiet for a moment.

_…When we get out of here, can I show you who I am?_

_Chat, you KNOW our identities must remain secret…_

_Marinette, please?_

_Y-you know who I am? But no one said my name!_

_If I show you, it'll become clear why I know who you are._

_…Fine. Come to my balcony after 9 pm. Then we'll talk._

_Thank you._

The world whited out.

* * *

Ladybug came to. Rena was staring down at her, relieved. "Ladybug! You're up!"

Ladybug looked to her side, where Carapace was watching over Chat Noir. He started to stir as well.

Satisfied that he would be alright, she turned her attention to getting more info from Rena. "How long were we out? Is the akuma still on the loose?"

"You were only out for about five minutes. Carapace and I grabbed you and Chat as soon as you went down and took you here to hide in the hopes you'd recover. Most of the people who were hit earlier are awake by now, but Heartbreaker's put a bunch of new people to sleep in the meantime."

Ladybug stood up. "Then there's no time to waste. Chat, you ready?"

Chat stood up. "Always, milady."

As they walked out of the building, preparing to face Heartbreaker once more, Chat breathed in her ear, "Your place, 9 pm, right?"

So he DID remember.

She gave a small nod.

Hopefully she'd be able to concentrate well enough to finish this fight without getting hit.

She had a lot to think about.


	2. Chapter 2

The four of them (somehow) managed to finish the fight without getting hit again. Which was a miracle, considering that she and Chat kept on stealing looks at each other.

Marinette's mind whirred as she collapsed onto her bed. "Tikki, what do I do now? He knows who I am!"

Tikki tentatively floated over to her. "Is that really so bad? I mean, I wanted you two to keep it secret to help protect your identities from Hawkmoth, but there's no point in worrying about that now. It's done."

Marinette sighed. "That's most of the reason why I was afraid of us revealing our identities - at first."

"At first?"

She paused, choosing her words carefully. "At first, I wanted to keep our identities solely to protect us from Hawkmoth. If one of us gets hit by a mind control akuma or is akumatized ourselves, we might spill our own secret identity, but we couldn't spill each other's."

She grimaced. "Though with how much I know - Rena Rouge's and Carapace's identities, Master Fu's location, even some of the ingredients for our special power-ups, - if I get hit, we're probably screwed either way."

Marinette took a deep breath, getting back on track. "Gradually... gradually I became afraid of something else. We've learned how to work together with our masks, without even knowing each other's names. What if revealing our identities changes that? What if it messes up our partnership?"

"You managed to defeat one akuma after Chat Noir learned your identity. Did it seem like your partnership was ruined?"

"Well, no... we were both a little distracted, but that was it. And that was only because I kept trying to figure out how he figured out who I was just from that memory, and how WEIRD he was acting about the boy I like being Adrien. Chat actually seemed to stay more on-track than I did."

Tikki chose her next words carefully. "Marinette... is it really CHAT knowing your identity that you're worried about?"

Marinette blushed, looking away. She didn't want to admit this, but... "I guess... not really. Well, maybe partly. Just... ugh!"

She buried her face in her pillow, wanting to escape from the world and from her own mind for a bit. Unfortunately, the universe didn't cease existing.

She put the pillow down. She had to come to terms with this before Chat arrived. "I- I've been more afraid of learning CHAT'S identity than I've been of him learning mine."

"Why do you think that is?" Tikki pressed. She had her suspicions, but she needed MARINETTE to confront it, to put it into words.

"Because- because- because I'm afraid that once I know who he is, once I can hang out with him OUTSIDE of the mask, that- that I might fall for him!"

There. She said it. The truth she'd been desperately trying to avoid. The truth she'd been concealing from even herself.

"Oh, Marinette..." Tikki said gently. "Would that really be so bad?"

"No! Yes! I- I don't know! I mean, he's brave and cute and gentle... But I love ADRIEN! I can't fall for Chat too."

"It's okay to fall for two different people, Marinette. That's NORMAL." _Especially when they're actually two sides of the same person_, Tikki thought.

"But it feels WRONG, Tikki! Like I'm betraying my love for Adrien somehow. I still love Adrien just as much as I always have."

"Marinette." Tikki spoke firmly. She needed to stop this before Marinette started spiraling. "Maybe something will happen when you find out who Chat is. Maybe it won't. But it's going to be OK either way. Gaining feelings for one person doesn't mean your feelings for someone else aren't just as valid. You're not betraying anyone. And... you don't HAVE to learn Chat's identity. If you're dead-set against it, you can just say 'no'. There's nothing either of you could've done about your own identity being revealed, but you DO have a choice here."

Marinette smiled, rubbing the top of Tikki's head. "Thanks. But I think I need to know. We defeated the akuma, but I could FEEL the imbalance in our partnership. Plus... I AM curious. I'm just scared too."

She took a deep breath, steadying herself. "I guess I'll just do something to try take my mind off of all of this until Chat arrives."

She looked at her designs. There was one she'd been thinking of making for awhile, but had never gotten around to. Now seemed like the perfect opportunity.

Or perhaps she should say, the purrfect opportunity.

* * *

Chat arrived back home, collapsing on his couch. He released his transformation, turning back into Adrien.

Plagg shot out of the ring,"Soooo Marinette's just a friend, huh, just a realllly good friend, riiiiiight?"

Adrien just stared off into the distance with a dopey lovestruck grin on his face. "Marinette's Ladybug. Ladybug is Marinette. Maribug. Ladynette. Ladymari. Buginette."

Adrien's eyes widened. "Oh my god, I call her Buginette! I practically figured out her name and I never knew it!"

Plagg stared at him for a moment. He turned away. "Nope. Not doing this. You're not paying enough attention to be teased, and I don't want to sit here and listen to you ramble about mushy stuff for the next few hours. I'm getting some cheese."

He flew off to the cheese cupboard, steadfastly ignoring Adrien's rambling.

Adrien didn't notice. "My awesome, amazing, courageous partner is the most talented, kind, wonderful girl in my class. And- and she's in love with me! She's been in love with me for almost as long as I've been in love with her!"

_Wait..._

He frowned. "But if she's in love with Adrien-me and THAT'S why she always rejected me, why did she say she was in love with Chat-me that one time?"

He gasped. "Has- has she been falling in love with me, with Chat-me, and not been willing to admit it as Ladybug? Maybe she had an easier time saying it as Marinette? She DOES act kinda differently between Ladybug and Marinette...?"

He froze, remembering something else that had happened during that whole incident. "Oh NO."

Adrien stood up, dramatically pacing the room. "I broke her heart, Plagg! I rejected the love of my life. Her father got so upset he was akumatized over it! She'll never want to see me again! I can never see her father again! He'll refuse to come to the wedding! No one will be there to walk her down the aisle and I'll have to try and persuade Father to take HER father's place but he'll keep canceling last minute and the wedding will be ruined and we'll never get a pet hamster!"

Plagg gave a long, deep sigh. He contemplated the cheese he was holding, then set it down. _The sacrifices I make..._

He flew over to Adrien. "Look. If she was THAT heartbroken I think you would've noticed by now. She seemed fine after that incident, it's probably not that big a deal. Besides, SHE invited YOU to her balcony, so she DEFINITELY wants to see you again. As for her father... well he was angry at CHAT NOIR. But ADRIEN AGRESTE has never rejected his daughter... at least that he knows of. Don't go in costume and you'll be fine."

Adrien smiled at Plagg, calm enough now to notice his existence. "Thanks Plagg."

He blinked as he had another revelation. "Plagg... you've known who Ladybug was since Dark Owl, right?"

Plagg nodded. "I had my suspicions for awhile, but that's the first time I KNEW Marinette was Ladybug. It was nice to see Tikki again."

"Then every time you encouraged me to give up on Ladybug and go after Marinette, like with that disastrous date, or after battling Stormy Weather that second time, you were secretly trying to get me together with Ladybug without me knowing it?"

Plagg turned away, "N- no, it's just a coincidence! I just wanted you to stop moping about all the time."

He flew away to his cheese, turning his back to Adrien.

Adrien, knowing of his kwami's tsundere tendencies, chuckled. "Thanks Plagg."

Plagg kept looking away from him, but Adrien had the feeling that if kwamis could blush, Plagg would be turning bright red from embarrassment.

Adrien started on his homework*, attempting (unsuccessfully) to take his mind off of his Maribug until their agreed-upon meeting.

* "Starting on his homework" in this case meant "Looking at his math homework, placing the tip of his pencil on the page to start working on the first problem, then getting caught up in thinking of how cute and wonderful and sassy the love-of-his-life, and startling out of his daze fifteen minutes later to find that he'd doodled hearts and ladybugs all over the page along with some ideas for what their last names should be when married and what to name their pet hamster." Repeat for the next three hours until the meeting time.

* * *

"That looks great, Marinette!"

Marinette chuckled as she finished her present for Chat Noir. "You think so?"

"Of course!"

Marinette fingered the soft fabric, lingering on the little black cats she'd embroidered on it. "You don't think I over did it?"

Tikki chuckled. "Not at all! Besides, he'll love anything you give him. After all, it came from you."

Marinette chuckled and turned her head, trying to hide the faint blush that had spread across her cheeks.

She glanced at the clock. It read 8:58.

Time to meet Chat.

She took a deep breath, slowly exhaling. Whatever happened, happened. Things would never be the same after this, but they'd be okay. She knew they would.

Concealing her present in her arms, she walked out onto her balcony.

* * *

Chat, meanwhile, had been standing on a rooftop staring at Marinette's balcony for the past half an hour, not wanting to come to early in case she was busy with something, but unable to pull himself away.

He checked his baton again, like he'd been doing every two minutes. '8:58′ blinked back at him.

"8:58... that's close enough, right? I won't seem overeager, right? Or... or what if she's changed her mind? Maybe..."

The door hatch opened. Marinette climbed out, walking to the edge of her balcony.

Chat gulped and steeled his nerves. Then he pole-vaulted towards her.

* * *

Marinette stared at Chat as he landed next to her. In a few minutes she'd know who he was. In a few minutes everything would change - well, change more than they already had. They'd be able to hang out together WITHOUT the masks. She could invite him over to meet her parents, introduce him to her friends, kick his butt at Mecha Strike III...

She shook herself. _One thing at a time, Marinette. Concentrate on the here and now. Make plans later._

"I- I made something for you."

Chat's eyes widened. "You- you what?"

"I... made you a present. I'd been thinking of making you one for awhile, but I was kind of afraid it would give away my identity, or maybe your identity, if I saw you wearing it. But I was so anxious and nervous about this, I HAD to take my mind off of it somehow. Creating things usually relaxes me."

Chat blinked, his cat eyes glistening. "I didn't get you anything."

She chuckled. "It's fine, kitty. I enjoyed making it. I often make things for my friends. I'm glad I can make something for my partner now."

She held out her hands, revealing her present.

It was a long, black scarf, embroidered with little black cats and ladybugs.

His clawed hands trembling, Chat took the scarf.

He stared at it, running his fingers over the playful kittens and the little ladybugs that surrounded them, feeling the softness of the fabric.

After a long moment, Marinette broke Chat from his reverie. "So... what do you think?"

He tore his eyes away from the scarf, looking over at Marinette. "I- I love it," he said, choking up. "I... thank you, Marinette. Thank you."

She smiled softly at him, at her kitty cat. "I'm glad you like it."

She hesitated. They were meeting here for a reason, and as much as she'd love to just bottle this moment forever, they both needed to move forward. To talk about what they'd seen.

"Chat... how did you know I was Marinette? Nothing in that memory should've given me away. And you acted really weird about Adrien. I expected you to be jealous, but... that's not really what you acted like. You seemed more amazed and... kind of happy, maybe? That Adrien is the boy I like."

He stared off into the distance, scarf still in hand. "Before I tell you - before I show you - how I knew, can you tell me more about what you think of Adrien? Please? You told me a little before, while we were in that memory, but there wasn't much time."

A nagging suspicion throbbed in Marinette's head. One that'd been there since that afternoon, since she and Chat had shared that second memory.

She refused to dwell on it too deeply. She'd find out the truth soon enough.

"Adrien... he's kind and gentle. He sees the best in everyone, even when he arguably shouldn't. That's why I fell for him. He can be kind of naive, believing that even people like Chloe and Lila might change for the better. Though Chloe HAS been getting better, so maybe he has a point there. And if he didn't have that faith in people... well, I don't know how long it would've taken for us to become friends. or him to be willing to reach out, and able to change my disastrous first impression of him. I've liked him for a long time, but..."

She groaned, collapsing into her lawn chair.

"...I STILL have trouble telling him I like him! I can function around him when we hang out as friends - well, mostly - but as soon as I try to tell him I like him, I freeze up and trip over my words. I don't think he even KNOWS that I like him."

She hesitated a moment, looking down at her hands. This next bit might be painful for Chat to hear, but... her gut was telling her to say it. And she'd learned to trust her instincts.

"I... I made him a scarf once too. A pale blue one, for his birthday. I forgot to sign a card for it originally and had to sneak back in and leave one. But somehow that card must've been lost or misplaced or- or SOMETHING, because when I saw him wearing it the next day, he said it was a gift from his father. He seemed so happy that his father had remembered to give him a real present, I didn't have the heart to tell him it was actually from me. It meant more coming from him than it would coming from me. I didn't want to ruin his happiness. I just... wanted to see him smile."

She looked up. Chat stared at her, tears running down his cheeks. She panicked. "Oh, oh, Chat, I'm sorry, that was insensitive of me, talking about the present I gave Adrien right after giving you one, I'm sorry-"

He hugged her. She stiffened for a moment, shocked, then relaxed and returned his embrace.

"You're wrong you know," Chat told her, still hanging onto her. "Adrien would've loved it just as much coming from you. He cares about you a LOT. It just... took awhile for him to realize just how much."

He pulled away from her, giving her a trembling smile. "Can... I show you who I am now, Marinette?"

Her breath caught, her heart hammering. She swallowed. This was it. This was the moment everything changed - again - for good.

"Y-yes," she told him, mouth suddenly dry. "Show me who you are beneath that mask.

He nodded at her, giving her a sot smile. A FAMILIAR soft smile.

"Claws in."

The magic came undone, the suit being erased. Revealing her kitty's face at last.

A face she knew.

"Adrien..." she breathed.

She felt like she should've been shocked, but... she wasn't. Maybe she would've been a few months ago. But now, after seeing more and more of Chat AND Adrien, after getting to know them both better, after... after falling for both of them...

She laughed. A low chuckle at first, but one that gradually grew in intensity until she could barely stay upright.

Adrien looked confused, and maybe a little concerned. "...Marinette?"

She choked back her laughter. "Of course.. ha ha... of COURSE it was you. No one else could make me fall for them TWICE!"

"Fall for me... twice... so you WERE falling for me! For Chat-me, I mean!" he replied, looking excited.

His face fell. "Oh, but... but I rejected you Marinette. I'm so sorry..."

She waved him off. "It's fine, kitty. How many times have I rejected you because I was too in love with... well, you? Besides, that time I confessed to being in love with you as Chat..."

She winced, looking away. "I... I was lying. Well, sort of. I thought you were about to figure out my secret identity and I- I panicked. It wasn't fair to you. Though... that DID clue me in that I might have started falling for you. Just a little. I was actually a little jealous of myself. I was upset about you supposedly changing your mind on liking Ladybug to liking Marinette instead, even though they're BOTH me! I didn't want to acknowledge it, but... I'd fallen for you too."

He looked at her, wide-eyed. "Milady..."

Then he frowned, having apparently just thought of something. "I thought... maybe you liked Luka, though? You went on that date with him."

"Hm." Marinette looked out from her balcony, and at the night sky. "Luka's sweet. And I'm glad I went out with him to the ice skating rink, I had a lot of fun. But... I couldn't stop thinking about you. He actually thanked me for inviting him, and then encouraged me to go after you."

She frowned. "What about you? You've been hanging out with Kagami a lot. I thought you were an item."

Adrien shook his head. "I told her about... well, feeling stuck in wooing you. That was the day I presented you with that rose. She advised that I change targets, sooo... I asked her out. But it didn't really work. I couldn't get over you, and I told her as much. Yeah we've been spending a lot of time together, but that's because we're friends."

Marinette laughed. "So we both tried to get over each other, and we both failed TERRIBLY."

He laughed with her. "I guess so."

Their laughter quieted down a few moments later, leaving them in companionable silence together.

_Silence..._

Marinette perked up, remembering something. It might be personal, but... maybe he'd talk to her about it? Secret identities weren't at risk now at least.

"Adrien... you remember when we first woke up after being hit by Heartbreaker, right? When we were in that dark void?"

Adrien hesitated, looking away from her. "Yeah, I... I remember."

His voice sounded strange, as if he was trying to control his emotions. She resolved to tread very, very carefully. She didn't want to hurt him if she could help it.

She took a deep breath. "I was terrified when I first woke up. I couldn't see, or feel, or move. But you had it worse. You were full-on panicking. Do... you want to talk about it?"

He walked over to the balcony, resting his hands on the guard rail and looking out onto the night sky.

He spoke. "I never told you about my nightmare, did I? The one Sandboy gave me?"

Marinette looked at him, puzzled. "I thought your nightmare was me hating you?"

He shook his head. "That was my nightmare as a superhero. As a civilian, my nightmare was different. I was trapped in my room as bars hurtled down around me, trapping me in a smaller and smaller space. No one could hear me, no matter how much I screamed."

He looked back at her. "Before this year, I didn't have any friends besides Chloe. I was only allowed to leave the house for photoshoots. I felt trapped and alone.

"Adrien..."

He put up a hand to stop her. "And then I received the Black Cat Miraculous. Suddenly I had the freedom I'd always craved. All of Paris was mine to explore. And I met you, milady. Suddenly I wasn't alone anymore."

She stared at him. Her kitty. Her crush. The love of her life, with or without a mask. She pulled him in close.

"I've kissed you twice now when you couldn't remember. Want one you won't forget?"

His eyes widened in disbelief, but he leaned forwards, compensating for the height difference between them. Marinette stood up on her tiptoes and kissed him on the lips.

They stayed together for nearly a minute. By the time they broke apart both of them were panting, which soon morphed into laughter.

"So... I guess we're a couple now?" Marinette asked, still giddy.

"If you'll have me, milady," Adrien replied, sounding just as deleriously happy.

"What are gonna tell Alya? She's going to want to know details as soon as she sees us acting... well... like a couple."

"Just tell her the truth. That I woke up and realized that the most wonderful, amazing girl in the world sat behind me in class."

Marinette laughed. "Somehow, I think she'll want more than that."

"But it's the truth!"

"I guess it is."

Adrien turned away, getting ready to leave, then remembered something. "Hey, Marinette?"

"What is it, Adrien?"

"I had two different nightmares, one as a civilian and one as a superhero. I know that your nightmare as a superhero was losing your powers, but... what was your nightmare as a civilian? As Marinette?"

_I'm in love with a girl and her name is Chloe! _

Marinette shuddered.

"I... My nightmare... was that you were in love with Chloe. Some nightmare version of you just appeared in my bedroom and kept following me around talking about how much he was in love with Chloe and how you two were going to have a house together and a hamster and you'd name it _Marinette!_"

Adrien stared at her for a moment... and then broke into laughter.

In-between laughing sobs, he choked out, "Sorry... HA HA... I know I shouldn't laugh... heh heh... but I'm not and NEVER will be in love with Chloe. You don't need to worry about that."

Marinette smiled at him, chuckling a little. Now that it was long-since over, it WAS kind of funny.

Their laughter died down after a minute.

Adrien spoke. "Besides... YOU'RE the one I want to have a hamster with."

She blushed. "You... do?"

"Yeah! I love hamsters!"

"So do I!"

Plagg popped up. "That's great that you both love hamsters, but we need to get back. There's a wheel of camembert back at the mansion with my name on it!"

"Plagg!" Tikki hissed.

"What? We BOTH know they'll talk all night if we let them. I'm hungry!"

Adrien shook his head and sighed. "Plagg..."

He looked back at Marinette. "Unfortunately he's right. I need to go home and get some sleep. It's a school night tomorrow after all. Claws out!"

Chat Noir wrapped Marinette's present around his neck and prepared to leave.

"WAIT!"

He paused just as he was about to extend his staff. Marinette ran over, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"To tide you over until tomorrow."

Slowly he reached up and touched his cheek where she'd kissed him.

She waved as she turned around to head back inside and to bed. "See you at school, kitty."

"S-see you," he choked out.

He turned around and extended his staff, launching him into the Parisian night. He and Marinette still had a lot to work through. Things would be different now. They still hadn't tested out how their dynamic would change, now that they both knew who each other were. If one of them fell under Hawkmoth's control, then both of their identities were at risk.

Still, Chat couldn't bring it upon himself to regret what had happened. Things would be more dangerous now. But they'd face that danger together, as partners - in BOTH meanings of the word.


End file.
